Classic British Children's TV

January 16, 2008 10:45 AM

"Well you know my name is Simon/ And the things I draw come true/ Oh, pictures take me over, over / Across the ladder with you." Little Gems is an extensive collection of information (including downloadable theme songs) about (mostly) British children's TV from the 1960s to 1980s. Simon In The Land of Chalk Drawings, The Moomins [previously on MeFi], Cockleshell Bay, Belle and Sebastian, The Herbs, and Hattytown Tales are just a few.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl (26 comments total)

Oh lordy... that takes me back a bit.
posted by Artw at 10:49 AM on January 16

The way Larry the Lamb spoke used to freak me the hell out.
posted by Artw at 10:53 AM on January 16

Ooo, downloadable theme songs! Much nicer than Youtube.
posted by aramaic at 10:56 AM on January 16

And here I thought the Mike Myer's "Simon" skit was an entirely original concept. What's next, Soylent Green is somehow NOT made from high energy plankton?
posted by Brocktoon at 10:56 AM on January 16 [1 favorite]

Belle and Sebastien! Great post, thank you muchly hurdy gurdy girl!
posted by ceri richard at 11:08 AM on January 16

I loved Simon as a kid; just seeing the words from the song took me back. Thanks for this.
posted by never used baby shoes at 11:10 AM on January 16

Well you know my name is Simon, and I like to do draaaawerings. Cheeky monkey!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:37 AM on January 16

And here I thought the Mike Myer's "Simon" skit was an entirely original concept.

You could not in one sitting behold all the stuff that Mike Meyers ripped off... er... drew homage from I mean.

When that "Simon" bit came out I tried to explain to people in the US where it came from but just met with blank stares followed by "But Mike Meyers is a GENIUS!"
posted by tkchrist at 11:41 AM on January 16 [1 favorite]

Simon was fantastic! I expected the B&S link to be from the cartoon. Can't have it all, I guess. Wonderful post!
posted by absalom at 11:56 AM on January 16

In retrospect, I should have known better, because I think the Belle and Sebastian cartoon was French.
posted by absalom at 11:58 AM on January 16

Man, I remember Hattytown Tales from Pinwheel, back when that's all that Nickelodeon would broadcast. I'm old.
posted by Lucinda at 12:07 PM on January 16

The Changes was awsome... I wish they'd shove it out on DVD.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:18 PM on January 16

Simon aired in the US for awhile. Maybe it had something to do with Captain Kangaroo? I remember watching it as a kid, probably a little too old to be doing it.
posted by Dave Faris at 12:22 PM on January 16 [1 favorite]

Yes, Simon was shown on Captain Kangaroo in the US.
posted by daveleck at 12:26 PM on January 16

Wow, Belle and Sebastian was a live action show before it was a cartoon? Huh! Learn something new every day.
posted by gurple at 12:34 PM on January 16

Simon was also shown on Pinwheel, if memory serves. And hurdy gurdy girl, thanks for the post! I've never been to Britain but the kids' entertainment has struck a chord with me since I was, uh, a kid.

also if anyone has any Pinwheel on VHS, Beta, or DVD please let me know kthxbye
posted by jtron at 12:39 PM on January 16

Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men.
posted by rocket88 at 12:42 PM on January 16

Are any of these programs available on VHS or DVD in the US?
posted by phytage at 1:08 PM on January 16

Anyone remember Charlie's Climbing Tree? I think that was it...it was another non-US cartoon where the young man lived with his grandfather. I distinctly remember an episode where he was to on on holiday and he kept forgetting things (like turning off the bathwater). I can hear the theme music in my head-- and the final scenes of the ending credits were a pullback from his house in the city.

This has some Pinwheel snippets.
posted by oflinkey at 1:30 PM on January 16

Phytage: amazon.co.uk might be worth trying. I order from them fairly regularly and even with the terrible exchange rate it's really not all that bad, provided what you're ordering is something you want bad enough.
posted by jtron at 1:45 PM on January 16

I bought a Region 2 DVD box set of the entirety of the Moomins that way. It worked out pretty reasonable, though it's both German and Englidh and the actual DVDs themselves all have "DIE MOOMINS" printed on them.

My 4 year old neice pretty much demands to watch it whenever she comes around and sits hypnotised in front of it, so my work is done.
posted by Artw at 1:50 PM on January 16

Dave: I want to say I saw it on Cartoon Express, but they also showed go-bots, so it's hard to believe that's where it was.
posted by absalom at 4:49 PM on January 16

whoa, memories: Ludwig, Think of a Number (which was probably the major reason I went with maths and science in grammar school), The Mole (Jennifer Shiman's bunnies look a lot like The Rabbit), and scariest of all, Animal Kwackers - I mean, children were allowed to watch that?

And yeah, The Changes scared the crap out of me as a wee 'un.
posted by scruss at 4:58 PM on January 16

Brocktoon said: And here I thought the Mike Myer's "Simon" skit was an entirely original concept.

Dave Faris said: Simon aired in the US for awhile. Maybe it had something to do with Captain Kangaroo?

daveleck said: Yes, Simon was shown on Captain Kangaroo in the US.

Wow, I too thought the Mike Myers skit was original, and I watched Captain Kangaroo faithfully and don't remember Simon at all (I must have been hypnotized by my preschool crush on Mr. Green Jeans - please don't laugh, I can't explain it)...

Very cool post, thanks hurdy gurdy girl!
posted by amyms at 8:48 PM on January 16

I can also bare witness to Simon being on Captain Kangaroo here in the states. I still tuned in to watch The Captain perhaps a couple years longer than I should have, largely cuz I still got a kick out of the Simon cartoons. Awesome work.
posted by ZachsMind at 9:08 PM on January 16

Oh, for the days when kids programming didn't give adults a rash just from hearing the theme song.
posted by JHarris at 2:42 AM on January 17